At every soccer practice, DSHA goalkeeper Olivia Myszewski runs a drill where her teammates line up a half dozen balls and shoot them at her from very close range.

"It certainly helps me work on my reaction time," said the Dashers sophomore in her second season as the side's starting goalkeeper.

Myszewski put her training to the test Thursday night, making several key saves in the last nine minutes as DSHA scored a late goal then hung on to beat Menomonee Falls, 1-0, in a WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal at Quad Park.

With the win, DSHA advances to play Germantown in the sectional final 4 p.m. Saturday at Whitefish Bay. Germantown defeated Homestead, 1-0, in the other semifinal Thursday night.

The Dashers can thank Myszewski's deft work between the pipes for having them one win away from a berth at the WIAA state soccer tournament next weekend at Uihlein Soccer Park.

"As a keeper, all you want to do late in the game is to get the ball up or out, and get a save every possible time you can," Myszewski said.

Falls, which finished with a school-record 21 wins, had three sterling opportunities to level the match in the last 10 minutes, but couldn't get the ball past Myszewski.

"We had some chances," said Falls coach Scott Stein. "We did a much better job in the second half, but I thought we could have taken them on a little more. Maybe we settled for too many shots from distance. This team has never got to the sectional finals, and we were really looking forward to getting there this year, It's disappointing."

The sides played even in the first half. The Dashers (16-5-2) had a nice chance in the 30th minute when Olivia Wright nearly put the ball through the legs of Falls keeper Kayla Heagney. But Heagney reacted quickly, scrambled backward and grabbed the ball before it could cross the goal line.

DSHA generated some chances in the second half: Junior forward Maria Kass and sophomore Delany Hughes both had nice strikes, but neither found the net.

"That's how it has been with us all season," said Dashers coach Kevin Roethe. "We need to be patient. We know we can possess the ball. We try to wear teams out and try to get a goal or two late in the match. We seem to be more dangerous in the last 10 or 15 minutes."

On Thursday, DSHA waited until the 69th minute to break through, and even that chance came with a little luck. Sophomore Hannah Perlewitz lofted a corner kick from the right side. The ball stayed inbounds, bounced off the top the crossbar and back toward the field. Wright was there to head it in for a score.

"One unlucky bounce made the difference," Stein said. "Almost all the time, that ball would bounce out of bounds. It was unfortunate for us."

Said Roethe: "We are not going to blow out many teams. We like to keep the ball, defend and put up a clean sheet."

After her offense scored the goal, Myszewski worked hard to ensure she posted that clean sheet. In the 72nd minute, Falls senior Anna Smalley headed a corner kick toward the goal. Myszewski made a diving save to her right to stop the line drive chance.

In the 78th minute, Myszewski ventured out of the keeper box to punch away the ball, and a minute later, she grabbed a hard cross from Falls sophomore Julia Lehnen that was about to meet the foot of Falls senior Rachel Clayton.

"Olivia has been big for us the whole year," Roethe said. "She has really matured this season. She has great reaction time, and right now, she is playing with overwhelming confidence."

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